Lecturer, Department of Public Health, CiST College, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
PhD Public Health, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Gerontology and Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA.
J Aging Soc Policy. 2022 Jul 4;34(4):568-587. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2020.1851429. Epub 2021 Jan 12.
The Government of Nepal provides a range of welfare schemes to senior citizens, but little is known about the use of public benefits by older adults. This community-based cross-sectional survey thus aims to assess the utilization and correlates of health services (through both private and public health facilities), free essential health services (provided by the government through public health facilities), and other welfare schemes - discounts in health treatment for certain diseases, monthly senior citizen allowance, reservation and concession in transportation, and the government-run health insurance program - among 201 Nepali older adults. Notably, a sizable proportion of the participants (22.4%) did not visit a health facility despite having a health problem. Females and those with higher co-morbidity had higher odds of health facility visits. Only 8% utilized the free essential health services, and 47% one or more of the other welfare schemes. Lack of awareness of free health services and welfare schemes were associated with lower odds of their utilization, respectively.
尼泊尔政府为老年人提供了一系列福利计划，但对于老年人对公共福利的利用情况知之甚少。因此，这项基于社区的横断面调查旨在评估 201 名尼泊尔老年人对卫生服务（包括私人和公共卫生设施提供的服务）、免费基本卫生服务（政府通过公共卫生设施提供）以及其他福利计划（某些疾病的治疗折扣、每月老年人津贴、交通预订和优惠、政府运营的医疗保险计划）的利用情况及其相关因素。值得注意的是，相当一部分参与者（22.4%）尽管有健康问题，但仍未去医疗机构就诊。女性和共病率较高的人更有可能去医疗机构就诊。只有 8%的人利用了免费基本卫生服务，47%的人利用了一项或多项其他福利计划。对免费卫生服务和福利计划缺乏了解与利用这些服务的可能性较低有关。
